Dodgers' Beckett has no doubt he'll pitch again

GLENDALE, Ariz. – If Josh Beckett’s comeback has as few setbacks as he has doubts, things are going to go swimmingly.

“None,” the veteran right-hander said Monday morning when asked if he had any doubt he will be ready to pitch this season.

The Dodgers certainly have their doubts. They signed free-agent left-hander Paul Maholm, essentially purchasing an alternative if Beckett does not fully recover from surgery to address numbness in his arm caused by a condition called thoracic outlet syndrome – or creating a competition for the fifth starter spot if Beckett and Maholm are both healthy.

“To me, if he’s healthy, Josh is going to throw the ball good,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. “This is a guy that’s been a quality pitcher for a long time and he’s still got good stuff. How he bounces back – we’ll see.”

Beckett says he has bounced back fine so far from surgery last July. The procedure involved removing the top rib on Beckett’s right side and alleviating nerve pressure that was causing numbness and tingling in his right hand and arm. Beckett said he had been experiencing the symptoms for years but it got to the point last year where he was unable to do something as simple as hold the steering wheel of his car with his right arm extended – let alone pitch at the major-league level.

After five starts for the Dodgers that were often more painful to watch than it was for Beckett to throw (he was 0-5 with a 5.19 ERA), he was shut down and opted for the surgery.

A year earlier, Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter underwent the same procedure performed by the same doctor (Dr. Greg Pearl). He returned to pitch in a handful of games that fall, including the Cardinals’ playoff run, but could not return and recently made his retirement official.

Beckett said he has been in contact with Carpenter, who helped him “getting through the mental part” of the surgery. But he points out that Carpenter had a history of other shoulder issues that made his return more problematic. Nonetheless, Beckett said he understands he is going against history in trying to return.

“You don’t get to my age in this game and not have buddies who want to be here but can’t or don’t have a job,” said Beckett who will turn 34 in May. “Eventually somebody’s going to rip the jersey off my back.”

But Beckett doesn’t think that time will come this spring. The numbness and tingling have not returned in the nearly eight months since the surgery and Beckett was able to throw off a mound with a group of Dodgers pitchers Monday. Beckett’s 30-pitch session was the third time he has thrown off a mound since the surgery, putting him right on pace with the rest of the Dodgers’ starting pitchers.

“I think my velocity is going to come back,” said Beckett, who has been limited to fastballs so far. “I feel like I’m throwing as hard right now with less effort than I did all of last year.

“I didn’t have pain. It was never like I was throwing through pain. I just didn’t want to kill somebody (with an errant pitch) so I was a little tentative.”

The Dodgers’ odd early-season schedule will give them ample time to make a decision about the fifth starter spot. They could go as late as an April 18-20 series against the Arizona Diamondbacks before using a fifth starter. Part of the eventual decision could be asking either Maholm or Beckett to pitch out of the bullpen – something neither has done.

“Josh hasn’t been in the ’pen but obviously it’s a competitive situation,” Mattingly said. “We’re not handing anything out to anybody.”

Beckett acknowledged that, saying “I’m here to try and win a job and let upper management take care of all the other stuff.” Making $15.75 million in the final year of his contract, Beckett said he was not about to make any pronouncements about being unwilling to pitch out of the bullpen if asked.

“I want to be with the Dodgers,” he said. “I want to be a Dodger. I felt like I was treated really good last year through everything and I’d kinda like to help repay that.”

NOTES

Outfielder Yasiel Puig, newly signed infielder Justin Turner and bench candidate Scott Van Slyke were among the early-arriving position players who took batting practice on one of the fields at Camelback Ranch on Monday. Position players are required to report by Thursday with the first full-squad workout Friday. … Outfielder Matt Kemp was also in camp Monday. “He’s going to look great. He’s going to be able to do a lot of things like hitting,” Mattingly said. “But there are going to be things that he’s going to just be a little behind.” … Because of their early start this spring, the Dodgers will not have minor-league games to send players to for extra work until March 15 – the day before they leave for Australia. Instead, Mattingly said intrasquad games will likely be arranged to get more at-bats or innings for players who need it.